Some very sad news today for the world of singer-songwriters and music lovers. Takamine artist and Oscar winner Glen Hansard died early this morning in a motorcycle accident on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland. He was 56.

Glen was a man of many talents, combining both music and acting in his career. Many know him from his role as a musician, appropriately, in the 1991 film The Commitments. In 2008, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for his song “Falling Slowly,” which he co-wrote for the musical romance film Once that starred Hansard and Markéta Irglová.

That film was later adapted for the stage, using the songs created by Hansard and Irglová. In 2012, it won eight Tony Awards, including best musical. Glen was also lauded for his purely musical efforts. In 2016, his solo album Didn’t He Ramble was nominated in the Best Folk Album category for a Grammy award.

News of Glen’s passing has shocked the world’s community of musicians, many of whom held great respect for his immense talent. Fellow Takamine artist Bruce Springsteen posted on Instagram this morning that he was heartbroken over Glen’s death, saying, “We met in Ireland many years ago and he was always nothing but a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man. Always positive, smiling and ready to sing. God bless him and his loved ones.”

Like many great singer-songwriters, Glen was indelibly tied to his guitar of choice. In 1990, he entered a guitar shop in Dublin and purchased a cedar-topped Takamine NP-15 which was eventually given the nickname of “The Horse.” That guitar — heavily used to the point that a huge hole was worn through the top from many years of aggressive strumming and a percussive playing style — was eventually retired, and Glen’s later performances and recordings were done on other Takamine models, including the EAN70 and the Pro Series P3D.

A recent appearance on the hit YouTube web series Track Star had Glen discussing his wide-ranging love (and close personal connections) of the music of many musicians, ranging from Bob Dylan to Eddie Vedder, Captain Beefheart, Curtis Mayfield, and Sonic Youth.

At Takamine, we will miss more than Glen Hansard the talented musician and actor. What we will truly miss is Glen Hansard the man… a genuinely kind and fascinating person who time and time again went out of his way to support his fellow musicians and his community of friends that spanned the globe. While he’s gone far too soon, Glen will be remembered as one of Ireland’s greatest music creators and performers, and a true friend to many of us. We were blessed that he found inspiration from the guitars we make.

Hansard is survived by his partner, the poet Maire Saaritsa, and their 3-year-old son.